Transcript Introduction to Ecology

Introduction to Ecology
Ms. Schultz
Biology
Ecology is the study of interactions
among organisms and between
organisms and their surroundings.
Ecologists ask questions at several
levels:
• Species: Organisms so similar to each other that they breed and have
fertile offspring.
• Population: The same species, in the same place, at the same time.
• Community: All the different species in an area.
• Ecosystem: All the living and non-living parts of a particular place.
Biotic: Living factors such as trees, frogs, bacteria, birds.
Abiotic: Non-living factors such as temperature, wind, sunlight,
water, fires.
• Biomes: Groups of ecosystems that have similar climates and
communities.
• Biosphere: Portion of the planet in which all life exists including land,
water, and air.
Zedonk
Liger
Wolphin
Zorse
Species
http://www.closingamericasjobgap.com/media/Gazelle1.jpg
Population
http://www.lhnet.org/mongolian-gazelle//
Community – all the living organisms
you see.
http://www.ganeandmarshall.com/images/tnz_serengeti_main.jpg
Ecosystem – all the living organisms
you see and the non-living factors like
sun, water, oxygen gas, etc.
http://www.ganeandmarshall.com/images/tnz_serengeti_main.jpg
Biomes – like rainforests, deciduous
forests, and deserts
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/Images/pictemperate.jpg
http://www.molossia.org/pictures/desert4.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RR-vmRgvyA/ThgccybeErI/AAAAAAAAD64/A-o6V6CwA8o/s640/rainforest.jpg
Biosphere
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_Western_Hemisphere.jpg
II. Ecosystems change as communities
are replaced by other communities.
• Primary Succession:
Occurs where life has
never been (bare rock)
• Pioneer Species (like
lichens) come in first to
stabilize and enrich the
soil. They are followed
by plants with greater
nutritional needs.
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/levin/bio213/ecosystems/ecology.html
Lichen
http://www.nwnature.net/lichens/images/lichen21.jpg
II. Ecosystems change as communities
are replaced by other communities.
• Secondary Succession:
Occurs where life has
been disrupted (storms,
mowing lawns,
abandoned fields)
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/levin/bio213/ecosystems/succession.2.gif
http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/08/Forest-fire-and-fire-surpression-1.jpg
II. Ecosystems change as communities
are replaced by other communities.
• A climax community is
an ecosystem that
remains pretty much
the same year
after year.
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/succession.gif
III. Organisms can be categorized by their
needs and how they obtain energy.
• The sun is the primary
source of energy for life
on earth. Of all the
sun’s energy that hits
the earth, only about
1% is used by living
things.
http://mas304.50webs.com/Rachel/foodchain.png
• Autotrophs (producers)
can use the energy from
the sun to make their
own food out of
inorganic materials in a
process called
photosynthesis.
Carbon Dioxide + Water → Sugar + Oxygen
Examples of autotrophs
include plants, algae, and
some bacteria. These
organisms are special
because they can take
light energy and convert
it to chemical energy. All
living things need
chemical energy to
survive and maintain
organization.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/assets/img/posters/algae-fuel-vi.jpg
http://gardeningchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/taro-elephant-ear-plant.jpg
• There are also
chemosynthetic
bacteria that don’t
need light to make their
food. They use the
energy in chemical
bonds. They are found
in the deep sea and in
hot springs.
http://www.theodora.com/wfb/photos/iceland/sulfur_springs_iceland_photo_mfa.jpg
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04fire/logs/april08/media/bacteria_algae.html
• Heterotrophs
(consumers) cannot use
energy directly from the
physical environment.
They must get their
energy from other
organisms.
http://larvalsubjects.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/shark-eating-seal-300x2541.jpg
Types of Heterotrophs
• Herbivores (cows, deer) get their energy from
eating plants.
• Carnivores (snakes, wolves) get their energy from
eating animals.
• Omnivores (humans, bears) get their energy from
eating plants and animals.
• Scavengers (crabs, vultures) get their energy from
eating animal remains.
• Decomposers (fungi, bacteria) get their energy
from breaking down dead organic matter.
IV. Categories of organisms interact in
feeding relationships.
• Food chains show how
energy is transferred by
what organisms are
eating.
• The arrow indicates
which way energy is
moving.
What gets eaten
→
What does the eating
http://heightstechnology.edublogs.org/files/2008/10/owl.jpg
Energy Vs. Matter
• Energy flow is one way. Energy is either used
by the organism or lost as heat.
• Matter recycles. When an organism dies, its
matter can be reused by other organisms to
grow.
Food webs show all the feeding
relationships in a community.
http://king.portlandschools.org/files/houses/y2/animalmaineia/files/species/wfrogkm/foodweb/food%20web.html
•
Give one food chain in the food web to the left.
Plant→ Rabbit→ Fox
•
How is a producer different than a consumer? Who
is/are the producer/consumers in the food web
above?
Producers can make their own food
whereas consumers must eat. The
producers are the plants. The
consumers are everything else.
•
How is the flow of energy in a food web different
from that of matter?
Energy flows one way. Matter recycles.
Use the following words to fill in the blank:
ecosystem, population, community.
•
All the rabbits in this food web make up a(n)
•
All the organisms in this food web make up a(n)
•
All the organisms in this food web and the abiotic
factors make up a(n)
Population
Community
Ecosystem
•
Where would a decomposer feed in this food web?
Decomposers would use all of these organisms as a food source.
V. Organisms feed at different levels
called Trophic Levels.
1st trophic level
Grass
Producer
→
2nd trophic level
Insect
Primary
consumer
→
3rd trophic level
Lizard
Secondary
consumer
→
4th trophic level
Snake
Tertiary
consumer
VI. The amount of energy or matter in
an ecosystem can be represented by
an ecological pyramid.
Energy Pyramid: Shows how much
energy is available at each level.
http://schoolworkhelper.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/EnergyPyramid-26a65z5.gif
Biomass Pyramid: Shows how much
living tissue is needed at each level.
Wolf 420 kg
Fox
Hare
Grass
9,000 kg
19,500 kg
20,000,000 kg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NgONmupCdQM/THhPmcGi9I/AAAAAAAAAAk/UmCZg794258/s1600/biomass.png
Numbers Pyramid: Shows how many
of each organism are needed at each
level.
http://www.staff.bourbon.kyschools.us/wp/ddampier/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pyramid-Numbers.gif
The 10% Rule
• Only 10 percent of energy
is available to organisms
in the next trophic level.
Why not 100%? Because
the organism that will be
eaten has used some of
that energy to grow and
to maintain homeostasis
and some of its energy
has been lost as heat.
http://pdsblogs.org/pdsapes512/files/2011/09/55_10NetProductPyramid-L.jpg
You Try
•
Take this food chain and turn it into
an energy pyramid.
4th Trophic Level
Tertiary Consumer
Algae → Zooplankton → Fish → Heron
Heron
•
•
Label the trophic levels and whether
the organism is a producer, a primary
consumer, a secondary consumer, or
a tertiary consumer.
If there are 1000 kcal of energy at the
producer level, how much is available
at the other trophic levels?
Algae
Zooplankton
Fish
Heron
1000 kcal
100 kcal
10 kcal
1 kcal
Fish
3rd Trophic Level
Secondary Consumer
Zooplankton 2
nd
Trophic Level
Primary Consumer
Algae
1st Trophic Level
Producer